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What does the media love more than a scandalous in-school rape case?
A young woman recanting her story.
The recent Washington Post articles examining the alleged rape of a 15 year-old girl at Mount Hebron High School in Maryland have been remiss in their handling of the girl’s recent recantation.
The girl had previously accused three boys of forcing her into a bathroom, where one held her down and the other raped her. The third boy allegedly watched out for anyone at the bathroom door.
The first 4/17/04 article noted that a “physical examination of the girl at Howard County General Hospital showed that her body had signs of trauma consistent with forcible rape.”
Later stories implied that the girl’s story was dubious–despite the above evidence.
In a 4/21/04 piece, “Rape Probe Flawed, Lawyers Say,” the Post quoted one of the attackers’ lawyers, Lawrence B. Rosenberg:Rosenberg suggested that police were eager to make arrests “because of where it happened, inside the school. Maybe it’s sexy to charge right away. . . . It was a juicy story.”
The rape of a high school freshman is sexy and juicy? How nice.
The real transformation in the coverage, however, took place once the girl recanted her story. The headlines went from “3 Howard Teenagers Charged in Rape Case” to “Girl Who Accused 3 Schoolmates of Rape Recants.”Teenagers are scary; schoolmates wear dickies.
The 4/23/04 article makes it seem like the accuser got caught in a lie:…several students have told police that the girl did not appear upset when she emerged from the restroom…”She’s essentially backed off her original complaint completely,” (State’s Attorney Timothy) McCrone said. “At some point she might have realized that things might have gotten out of control and had a change of heart.”
Or maybe she was terrified about the media coverage and the possibility of being vilified in court? There are a myriad of reasons rape victims recant their stories–it is not a direct indicator that they are lying.
It’s time that the media took a more in-depth look at the intricacies and politics of sexual assault; but I guess at the end of the day it’s just “sexier” to think that a 15 year-old girl would have consensual sex with three boys in a school bathroom.
The girl’s mother has stood by her daughter’s story.

According to several women’s organizations, 75 women “disappeared” and were murdered in Ciudad Juarez in 2017 alone. After hearing these numbers and learning that femicides were on the rise in Ciudad Juarez (which is notorious for its history of violence against women), members of Las Almas Collective created ¡Ni Una Mas!, a video that denounces gender-based violence and calls for “justicia y dignidad” for victims.

Las Almas Collective is a group of Latina creatives empowering women through culture, art, and music. Their new video opens with the lyrics, “Nunca dejare de buscar, nunca voy a olvidar” (I will never stop looking, I will never forget), introducing us to the collective’s message: “We will never stop searching for the victims of the ongoing femicide ...

According to several women’s organizations, 75 women “disappeared” and were murdered in Ciudad Juarez in 2017 alone. After hearing these numbers and learning that femicides were on the rise in Ciudad Juarez (which is notorious for its

Last week, the bodies of 26 Nigerian girls, aged between 14 and 18, were found floating in the Mediterranean Sea. Autopsies of the bodies confirmed that they drowned while attempting the dangerous and all too often deadly crossing from Africa into Europe. Theirs is a story that’s all too familiar: rather than being treated as murder at the hands of xenophobic, militaristic, nativist states, the deaths of migrants, Black people, and girls are all too often erased and ignored. Their names unknown, their lives cut short, these girls’ deaths are a deliberate attempt by the state to deter migrants, by any means necessary.

The girls’ bodies ...

Last week, the bodies of 26 Nigerian girls, aged between 14 and 18, were found floating in the Mediterranean Sea. Autopsies of the bodies confirmed that they drowned while ...

Last week, 45 pardoned Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who made a name for himself by profiling and abusing Latinxs and immigrants.

The pardon comes after Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for violating a federal district judge’s order to stop discriminating against Latinos. Trump justified pardoning Arpaio by lauding “his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.”

Here are 15 reasons Trump is wrong and Arpaio deserves to burn in hell.

Arpaio was convicted for systematically targeting and illegally detaining Latinxs at traffic stops. He and his officers routinely violated Latinx’s civil rights, creating an environment of fear and terror in Maricopa County — but that’s only the beginning.
During his ...

Last week, 45 pardoned Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff who made a name for himself by profiling and abusing Latinxs and immigrants.

The pardon comes after Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court for ...

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